Tips & tricks
10x you can also keep this in the freezer
Yesterday I tidied up my pantry and guess what: lots of things were past their expiration date. What a waste! If only I had filled my freezer, I wouldn’t have had to throw anything away. Because you can really freeze more than you think. So you can also keep all these unexpected foods in your freezer. Did you know that?
I assume everyone sometimes puts bread in the freezer, or some sausages, vegetarian or not, that you’re planning to throw on the grill later in the week. But there are also foods you may never have thought you could freeze for later use, and because of the aforementioned no waste, we’re happy to help you get started.
These (surprising) things are perfectly fine to keep in the freezer
- Raw eggs. Remove them from their shells and beat them briefly before putting them in a storage container, otherwise they will become grainy.
- Cheese. Only hard cheeses, not ricotta, chèvre or other soft cheeses.
- (Cooked) Mussels. Have lots left over after an evening of eating mussels? Remove them from their shells and keep them for up to 6 months.
- Avocado. Only do this with ripe avocados, but you can easily halve them, remove the pit and put them in a freezer bag. First suck the air out with a straw.
- Flour. Be sure to put the flour in an airtight container and freeze it. Guaranteed pest-free storage (flour moths are more common than you think..)
- Cured meats. Such as pancetta: The fattier, the better, and wonderfully versatile from morning to night. With an egg for breakfast, as a BLT for lunch, and in carbonara in the evening. And another top tip, borrowed from what chefs keep in the freezer: the fat from fried ground meat. Here’s how to do it: scoop the meat out of the pan, let the fat solidify, and store it in small containers. A delicious alternative to oil or butter the next time you fry meat. Also delicious to add to the broth when making ramen.
- Butter. You can also portion it easily by cutting it into blocks first. Herb butter works too! In an ice cube tray, for example.
- Jam. Got jars of homemade jam left over? First make someone else happy by giving some away, but if you really have a lot left, you can also keep it in freezer containers for up to a year.
- Ravioli/tortellini. Try freezing them separately, for example on a baking sheet, and once they’re frozen, transfer them together into a more convenient bag. This way they won’t stick together when defrosting and you’ll be less likely to tear them.
- Broth and stock. Bonus points if you made the broth yourself, but you can also pour store-bought broth into a measuring cup and carefully use it to fill ice cube trays. Super-handy flavor bombs that you can toss straight into the pan when making soup.
And as a bonus tip: pizza!
Yes, sure, there’s already a frozen pizza in there, but we mean what’s left of a delivery pizza. Cut it into slices or pieces, wrap it tightly in a bag, pop it in the freezer and throw it back in the oven when you just want to chill with a glass of wine but still have to eat.
